2013 men's lacrosse preview: Abbey hoping for improvement off last season

BELMONT – In his first season as Belmont Abbey College lacrosse coach, Chris Barrett guided the Crusaders to a 5-11 overall record, fourth-place finish in Conference Carolinas and was named league coach of the year by his peers.

With the 2013 season set to start with Wednesday’s 3:30 p.m. home game against Lenoir-Rhyne, Barrett is looking for more.

“I know we can have a much better team than last year,” said Barrett, a former Limestone player and assistant who is the third coach in the school’s eight-year history in the sport.

The Abbey defeated Limestone in the Conference Carolinas tournament final in 2008, a historical fact that gives Barrett hope that it can happen again.

“They were able to win it once, so it shows you it’s possible,” Barrett said.

But, based on the NCAA Division II playoff structure of the time, the Abbey didn’t advance any farther.

With the NCAA adding four teams to the Division II lacrosse playoffs, Barrett is hopeful the Crusaders can compete one of those national postseason spots.

“It’ll be four teams from the South and four from the North, based on your ranking in your region,” Barrett said. “Limestone is the only team from our league that’s ever been, but winning our league is the goal every season and now it gives us a chance to making the playoffs.”

In order to reach those high goals, Barrett’s program has to recruit well, play well and improve each season.

Barrett is hopeful the newcomers he’s adding – there are 16 of them – will complement the returning players to form a talented group.

Morrisey returns after being an all-conference selection each of his first three seasons. Doyle is a two-time pick and Steele was all-conference last season and Scharr in 2011.

Talented newcomers include the program’s first Canadian players in history – Patrick Butler, Daniel Marshall and Connor Sellars. Other newcomers expected to compete for playing time are Devin Cruz, Sean Kenny and Vic Loscalzo.